What
is AIS?Simply
put, AIS (which stands for Automatic Identification System) is a means by which
ships can be tracked. By law, all ships over 300 tons must be equipped
with a VHF transmitter which broadcasts their position along with other information
such as identification number, name, course and speed. Ports and other ships
are able to receive this information and, using on-board display systems, watch
the movements of ships within their area, much like on radar.

To
give an example of this, the Auckland Port Authority uses AIS to track
ships
from as far away as Cape Reinga (some 280 miles north of Auckland) and
Tauranga
(some 130 miles south of Auckland) with the data being displayed on four
large
screens at Harbour Control. AIS has been used on a number of occasions
when
conditions have been very foggy to help ships navigate their way in and
out
of port. Obviously there are a number of other uses that AIS can be put
to such
as helping to resolve the difficulty of identifying ships when not in
sight (e.g. at night, in radar blind arcs or shadows or at distance),
commercial shipping firms being able to keep track of their ships or the
ships their cargo is on, etc.

A lot of the ships you will see displayed on the map below come from our own receiving
station here at the Sanctuary. Other ships will be from other receiving stations in the area. The data is then uploaded to the Marine Traffic web site in Greece and pulled to here. Use the map controls to zoom in or out
and clicking on a ship's name or icon gives further information, including photo if
available.

This website is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by MetService or any other government agency. The weather data contained herein is offered without any warranties expressed or implied, and is meant to only supplement, not replace, official MetService weather forecasts and information.